It is common practice in most homes and businesses to have a wastebasket or trash receptacle which is lined with a removable wastebasket liner, typically a polyethylene bag or the like. During the day, or over a period of days, refuse is collected in the wastebasket until the wastebasket is to be emptied whereupon the wastebasket liner is removed from the wastebasket or trash receptacle. However, as oftentimes happens, as refuse or trash is collected in the wastebasket the wastebasket liner expands as trash is placed in the wastebasket, so that the refuse collected and compacted in the wastebasket liner presses against the inside wall or walls of the wastebasket. Thus, as the wastebasket liner is drawn upward out of the wastebasket, the wastebasket is carried upward off of the floor with the bag, only to fall off due to the force of gravity, or when the wastebasket and liner are pulled apart by the person charged with the task of emptying the wastebasket. This problem can occur in every type and configuration of wastebasket using a removable wastebasket liner. Perhaps the most common example of this event is the removal of a wastebasket liner from a "kitchen" wastebasket, which oftentimes contains food scraps, newspapers, and other solid waste materials. As refuse is collected in the wastebasket, it compacts downward and expands outward, so that the bag presses against the wall of the wastebasket.
An early attempt of providing an apparatus for holding a garbage receptacle in position while an inner receptacle is removed therefrom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,286,368 to Lucas, issued Dec. 3, 1918. In Lucas, a cylindrical container is provided with a pair of opposite directed footpieces rigidly affixed to the bottom of the container. The container also has a hopper housed inside the cylindrical container, over which a cover is closed. Garbage is placed into the hopper and collected therein. When it is desired to remove the hopper from the container the cover to the hopper is removed, one or both of the footpieces can be stood upon by the person removing the hopper, and the hopper drawn up and out of the container.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,417 to Rhoades, et al, issued Dec. 14, 1982, a dustless container for ashes or the like is disclosed having an ash container with a removable lid received thereon, as well as a door provided in the wall of the ash container for receiving ashes or other material to be deposited in the container. At the bottom of the container a single toe recess means is provided for holding the container in position while the cover is lifted upward off of the container for dumping the ash or other material collected in the container. The toe recess formed in the container is recessed into the container wall, and formed as a part of the container itself.
A more recent approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,579 to Jones issued Nov. 17, 1992. In Jones a wastebasket is provided that has an integral recess cut into the side wall of the wastebasket. A pedal is pivotally mounted on one end at the bottom of the recessed area and held in a normally retracted position with a spring in contact with the wall of the recess and the foot pedal. The foot pedal has a tab which is curved outward so that the person desiring to remove a liner from the wastebasket can attempt to catch the tab of the foot pedal to push the foot pedal down against the spring, holding the foot pedal in position while the wastebasket liner is drawn upward and out of the wastebasket.
Unlike the patent to Lucas, in which the foot pieces are affixed to the outside of the waste container, and the patent to Rhoades, in which the toe recess is formed as a recess in the wall of the container, the foot pedal of Jones is housed in a recessed area cut into the side wall of the waste receptacle. Also, and unlike Rhoades, the foot pedal of Jones is affixed to the side of the wastebasket, and is not located in a central portion of the wastebasket, so that the wastebasket can possibly pivot about the end of the foot pedal pivotally held within the recess as the wastebasket liner is drawn out of the wastebasket of Jones. The problem may also arise in using the invention disclosed in the patent to Jones that if the person seeking to remove the wastebasket liner has large feet, or is barefoot, they may have trouble engaging the tab of the foot pedal to pivot it downward against the floor while the wastebasket liner is removed, or they may stub their toe while attempting to move the tab of the foot pedal down, or catch their toe on the recess on the side of the wastebasket while pushing the foot pedal downward.
Thus, the need exists for a device which can be attached to a wastebasket and provides a simple yet efficient means for assisting a person in removing the wastebasket liner from the wastebasket by holding the wastebasket in place as the wastebasket liner is drawn upward. Moreover, the need exists for a device which is not formed as an integral part of the wastebasket, thus enabling the device to be retrofit to existing wastebaskets. Also, the need exists for a device which provides foot pedals which can be moved into a stored or retained position in the event the wastebasket is moved or placed in storage, and extended downward into a working position to both stabilize the wastebasket and provide a device to hold the wastebasket in position as a wastebasket liner is removed therefrom.